The Wedding

What a wild and crazy day! I feel like I lived through a very surreal moment! You know - you go to weddings all the time (OK -- not all the time, but time to time), but you go to weddings, and they go through the formalities, and everything is beautiful. And you hope that one day your child(ren) will find someone they deem worthy of themselves to marry. 

And then it happens, and well—it was a beautiful day. Absolutely beautiful. But I'm going to start at the top. 

After writing the blog, Little Bear and I were out on the beach. That little guy is pretty funny! He's just so little, and he's like a chick magnet. Sorry if that term offends anyone, but you can't go anywhere with him without someone falling in love with him! 

Little Bear on the beach

And of course, the little guy overestimated the depth of a pool of water and fell in and then walked in the sand, and he was dirty. Well, I certainly wasn't giving him a bath, and thankfully, the sand fell off. I brushed off as much as I could, and I swear the rest fell off in the car when I went to pick up one of the guests at another hotel. 

OH NO -- Bear got dirty!!! 

A few of the guests joined M on the beach for early morning yoga. Bear and I hung around to get some pictures. I knew no one else was covering the event, so I helped out. 

Early morning yoga on the beach

Then I was off to Tofino and Rhino Cafe for my morning breakfast. Yes-- I could have eaten at the hotel, but riding the bike in was much more fun! DH brought Bear in the car, and they joined me. I hate when they put a pastry with lots of icing into a paper bag. You lose half the icing that way!! Anyway -- it was an apple fritter kind of day, and it was yummy. 

Bear and I are having our morning breakfast.

And there I am with my helmet on and my two jackets, but I was having an amazing time. It was so much fun!!!!

Happy to be riding a bike

I had to stop to take some pictures. That's the beauty of riding a bike; there is so much to see, and since you are much closer to things, you wouldn't see from a car. And since you are on a bike, it's super easy to stop and take pictures.  

A red poppy

This flower was from a huge flowering bush, and those blooms were as big as my hand. They were stunning. 

Massive pink flowers

And then I thought this was an interesting sign. Nicely made up, so it wasn't just a casual thing. I was tempted to take the bike and see just how deadly they were!!! I mean—don't you want to know what a deadly pothole looks like? Perhaps today I can find out!

What's a deadly pothole look like?

I stopped to take a picture of the hotel sign, but now realize, looking at it, there was too much shadow at the time. No worries—we have the memory. 

The hotel sign

At one point, I needed something from M's room—what the heck was I delivering or picking up? WAIT -- it wasn't that at all. I was trying to finish the ring bearer pillow, and they had goodies, so I stocked up for fortification while I finished the pillow. Yes -- it was a big day for pastries. I'll deal with the consequences when I get home. 

More pastries

And then Bear and I sat in the library and worked on the pillow. The pillow was done basically. I had to find someone to put their finger on the thread so I could tie it tightly, so I went to M's room, where some of her friends were, and one of them helped me tie it. That was to give the pillow a tufted center. 

Working on the ring bearer pillow

And there was Bear, and he sat between my legs on the chair while I tried different ways of attaching the pillow to his harness. The pillow just kept wanting to shift, but I think I finally figured something out. But as I sat there, two couples came by, took pictures of Bear, and asked all kinds of questions. And then they started asking about the puzzle that was still there. Oh my—I have work to do!!!! But you never know what's going to happen when Bear is around. He was such a good boy and patient as I worked on his pillow. 

Grandma says I'm a very patient boy, and I am!!!!!

Speaking of which, I had a near panic moment earlier in the day. It was a beautiful day. More on that in a moment, so Bear and I decided to sit in the lawn chairs near the hotel. Let me rephrase that, I decided to sit in the chairs and was hoping Bear would join me. He did stick with me for a bit, and then he started to wander around. I decided to get up to keep an eye on him, and all was good. 

Then he went left, while I went right, or he was looking for a quiet place to do his business. It happened so fast, I don't even know what happened. But all of a sudden, he wasn't there! OH MY GOD!!!! I'm not a panicky person, but I had a moment of panic, to say the least. It did NOT help when my phone rang —it was a call from M. OMG—I cannot tell her that Bear is missing. 

She was laughing and said that Bear was just around the corner. They had been watching me from their hotel window!!!!! PHEW --- saved by the onlookers, but busted as a trusted dog sitter!!!! We all had a laugh, and then I kept a closer eye on the little guy. 

This was Bear with all his wedding garb. He had on a white shirt, and I made him a green bow tie - more on all that another day. And then he had a new leash and harness, and his pillow. At one point, I think there was a corsage for him, but he had no more room!!!!

I'm a very handsome boy!!!!

The one thing that I am very proud of M for is her attitude towards the day. She has spent enormous amounts of time planning the wedding, and you could tell. Details were taken care of, some things probably went awry behind the scenes, but through it all, she was graceful, gracious, and so at ease. There wasn't a single moment that I felt she was "panicky" because something didn't go well. She said, " It is what it is." And that just made my heart sing. Be flexible, and nothing will ever disappoint you. I am so proud of her for that. She really and truly has grown up. But do your kids ever grow up in their parents' eyes? I am very proud of her for the woman she has become!

Thankfully, I'm a quick-change artist. I was watching some videos on my phone, and at 12:35, DH came back from hanging out with the guys. I was still lying on the bed with Bear, and we needed to be in the room at 1:15. Oops. I ran downstairs and grabbed a sandwich and a chocolate croissant for lunch. Then into the shower, but not before comforting Bear, as there was a tsunami-warning drill (no danger for us), and poor Bear did NOT like that. 

Anyway, I showered, blow-dried my hair, got dressed, ate my lunch, and still arrived at 1:15. There is no time to waste!!! Close friends and family members (ladies only) met in M's room, and when she came down the stairs in their loft room, she was radiant!!! The photographers and videographers captured the moments, and it was an unreal experience for all of us to share. 

But I have to include this memory here. I got my ears pierced years ago when I was a teenager. Over the years, I stopped wearing earrings, and one of the holes had closed. So I haven't worn earrings for eons. She had mentioned to DH that she wanted me to wear long dangly earrings, which - you know me - if someone asks me to do something, I tend NOT to do it. And can you believe that someone called me spiteful because of it!!! Well, we don't want any negative thoughts here, but the idea stayed in my head. 

One day at the mall several months ago, I spotted a place that does ear piercing, so I thought, "What the heck," and got my ears pierced. It didn't hurt nearly as much as when I was younger! Then, the day before we left, I hadn't bought any earrings yet, so I had to scoot to the mall, went back to the same place, and found some funky dangling earrings. 

I never told anyone about the earrings, and no one at home noticed that my ears were pierced! Now I can wear funky earrings -- yes -- I didn't need pierced earrings, I could have worn clip-ons. 

I wore them yesterday, and when we hugged when I saw her, we both started crying, which was OK for me but not for her! Her day was just beginning. But it was all OK, and I feel like we have cemented our relationship that much more! I swear the first thing she noticed was those long, dangling earrings! 

Then DH and I walked down to the beach where the wedding would take place. I wanted to get Bear prepared. When I came through the trees to the beach, it took my breath away. The view was stunning, and the weather was perfect. They could NOT have asked for a better day or place. 

The wedding venue

Just a side note: they had their first date on the beach somewhere in Vancouver. They got engaged on a beach in Maui and are now married on a beach in Tofino!!! The beach is their happy place!

Here is the arch that we picked up at the party rental place. The hotel did an amazing job of camouflaging it. 

The wedding arch

But seriously —look at that view!!!!

The view from our chairs

They had a commissioner do the ceremony, and it was beautiful. They did NOT want anyone taking pictures during the ceremony except one of their best friends. That way, they would get some immediate pictures of the ceremony. I had to chuckle because, from a couple that posts a ton of pictures on IG, to tell people not to take pictures was an oxymoron. But they had the professional photographers there, and the one friend who took some, so they could have some pictures of the ceremony. 

Why? They wanted people to be in the moment of their ceremony and to experience it through their own eyes, not through a camera's lens. I thought it was a brilliant move, but OH MY -- it was hard to sit on your hands!!! 

Anyway, the ceremony was beautiful, and the sun beamed down on them as the waves crashed behind them. We could NOT have asked for a more perfect day. 

Wait -- I'm coming to their picture. Here is a close-up of the ring pillow. And I love how the commissioner called it. The ring BEARer pillow. It was so adorable. 

The ring pillow

I had made some small (6") pillow forms way back when, and they were made to put some funky folky stuff on the outside. I used the satin from her dress and made a cover. I'll tell you more about that experience another day. The lace is the bits of lace that the dressmaker sent me, and I stitched it to the pillow. 

And there are their two bands attached to the pillow. 

The wedding bands

Once the ceremony was over, it was time for family and friends' photos. We had picked up a bunch of games at the party rental place, and so while the photos were happening, the games were used. And it was almost time to go before I realized that I did not have a picture of the happy couple!!!

The happy couple - Dillon and Madeline

They both looked amazing, and Dillon had a bespoke suit made —oh boy, it really makes a difference in the fit. And M's dress was covered in tulle and lace, and that was quite the task to wear that on the beach. While the beach wasn't very deep in sand, it was deep enough that it was hard to walk on with shoes. I went barefoot until it was time for pictures. And in all that—I do NOT have a picture of me in my outfit!!!

Dillon and Madeline

After pictures, we headed to the dining room for dinner. And I have stuff to share there, but not today. And after that, we went to another party venue on the property for the dance! Here's a picture of the first dance, and they have been practicing it, and they were so cute!!!

The first dance

We walked back to the hotel (about 5 minutes), and it was pitch black. No lights, but I have zero issues seeing in the dark. 

As we arrived at the hotel, I looked up and OH MY --- look at the stars. Yep -- this photo was taken with my phone camera. It's amazing what those cameras are capable of. 

The night sky

Bear hung out with me for most of the day, but he had a sitter from 4 - 10 PM. So that gave me a bit of a break, although he's no trouble at all. Just not allowed in the dining room! I came back to the room to get him and took him back to the dance. HEY -- I had to get some steps in somehow!!!! 

When we finally got back to the room, the poor little guy was exhausted. He went straight to bed and hasn't moved an inch. WAIT --- let me rephrase that. He's a snuggler, and I swear I woke up sleeping on the edge of the bed. But what a cutey and you can't complain!!!

Exhausted after a very long day

And there it is --- the wedding. It was perfect! The couple looked stunning; the weather was perfect; there was laughter and joy; all their close friends and family were nearby; and all the hard work of planning went off so smoothly that it was seamless. People kept asking me about details, but I had nothing to do with the planning. I may have helped with a few things, but it was all Madeline and Dillon. They did an amazing job. 

I am so proud to welcome Dillon into our family, and I wish them all much joy and happiness in their new life as a couple. Love you both to bits!!!!!

And a huge thank you to all the friends and family who came to the wedding. As mentioned last night at dinner, getting to Tofino is not easy, and it took us two days to get here. But it was so worth it, and it holds such special meaning for the happy bride and groom. We had been here 27 years ago with Madeline when she was little. I need to dig those photos out when I get home. And I believe they were here a couple of years ago or last year? I'm not sure about those details. I'm sure they will be back!  

On that happy note, I'm out of here. We are meeting some friends for breakfast, not in Tofino, and I might go for a bike ride afterward. I'll see how the day goes. 

There is lots more tos hare, but that's it for today. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!